A terrorist attack?

Or maybe some kind of large-scale accident?

As I scanned my surroundings, trying to grasp what was happening—

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The ground suddenly began to shake.

At first, it felt distant, like a faint tremor carried through stone. But with each passing second, the vibrations grew heavier, more violent, as if something enormous was pounding its way straight toward us.

People froze.

Then murmurs spread.

Then panic followed.

And finally—

"Lisa?"

I spotted them emerging from between the buildings. Lisa and Elena were sprinting toward us at full speed, their faces pale, hair and clothes in complete disarray.

But that wasn't what made my blood run cold.

Behind them—

Something huge burst into view, kicking up clouds of dust with every step.

"Run awaaaaay!!" Lisa screamed, her voice cracking as she waved her arms desperately.

My breath caught in my throat.

A massive figure charged forward, its hooves smashing into the stone pavement like thunder. Broad shoulders. Muscles like twisted iron. And atop its body—

A bull's head.

"…A Minotaur?"

The monster roared, a deafening sound that rattled my skull.

"MOOOOO!!!"

Its bloodshot eyes were wild, completely devoid of reason. Foam dripped from its mouth as it lowered its head, horns aimed straight at the two girls it was chasing.

This wasn't some summoned illusion or training construct.

This was the real thing.

People screamed and scattered in every direction. Shopkeepers abandoned their stalls, nobles forgot their dignity, and guards struggled to organize as chaos exploded across the street.

My mind raced.

Why was a Minotaur—an A-rank monster—inside the capital?

How had it breached the city's defensive barriers?

And why, of all people, were Elena and Lisa the ones it had locked onto?

Elena stumbled.

For a split second, her foot caught on the uneven stone, and she nearly fell.

"—!"

My heart dropped.

The Minotaur roared again, clearly sensing its chance, and surged forward with terrifying speed.

That was it.

Thinking stopped. Instinct took over.

I stepped forward, gripping my sword tightly as mana surged through my body.

I didn't know how this situation came to be.

I didn't know why the story had spiraled this far off course.

But one thing was clear—

At this rate, there really could have been casualties.

The thought barely finished forming before my body moved on its own. I dashed forward, sword already in hand.

"UOOO—!"

The Minotaur turned at the sound, its massive frame twisting as it noticed me—but it was already too late.

I focused my mana and applied a magnetic force directly to its head.

For an instant, the world seemed to lurch.

Then—

THUD!

As if yanked by an invisible hand, the Minotaur's head was violently slammed into the ground. The impact shook the earth beneath our feet. Unable to resist the sudden force or recover its balance, the huge body staggered, then toppled forward.

Now.

I didn't hesitate.

Mana surged through my arm as I infused my sword with aura, the blade humming softly as it sharpened beyond steel. I stepped in close and drove the sword straight between its eyes.

SQUELCH.

The resistance was almost nonexistent—like cutting through soft tofu rather than bone.

The blade sank deep into its skull.

The Minotaur's massive body shuddered once… twice… then went completely still.

Silence followed.

The heavy, oppressive presence that had filled the area vanished as if it had never existed. Blood slowly pooled beneath the creature's head, staining the ground a dark crimson.

"…Wow."

"…Wow!"

Rain's voice rang out from behind me, filled with unfiltered amazement.

I exhaled slowly and pulled my sword free, shaking off the blood before turning around.

That's when I saw Elena.

She was bent slightly forward, hands on her knees, clearly still catching her breath. Her face was pale, her golden hair clinging lightly to her forehead with sweat. When she looked up at me, her eyes were wide—not with fear, but pure disbelief.

"W-What… just happened?" she asked, her voice unsteady.

"And… what was that magic?"

I followed her gaze back to the Minotaur's corpse.

Right. From her perspective, I'd just charged in and killed a high-ranking monster in a matter of seconds.

"…I'll explain later," I said, keeping my tone calm. "More importantly—are you both hurt?"

Rain quickly shook her head. "I'm fine! Just tired… but seriously, that was incredible!"

"Haa… haa… the monsters escaped."

Elena bent forward slightly, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Her usually calm expression was strained, and a few loose strands of her hair clung to her forehead.

After taking a moment to steady herself, she continued.

"The Bors Trading Company brought in a number of rare monsters to celebrate the festival."

"…Monsters?"

"Yes. For a circus."

I frowned instinctively.

A circus—an old-fashioned form of entertainment. Even in the modern world I used to live in, it had existed in one form or another. Clowns, acrobats, exotic animals… and here, apparently, monsters.

It seemed the Bors Trading Company had decided to put on a grand spectacle for the Empire's Founding Day festival by importing monsters into the capital.

That alone was already questionable.

"But something went wrong," Elena said quietly. "The cages broke during transport. I don't know the exact cause, but the monsters escaped into the city."

"So that's why things turned into this mess…"

After hearing her full explanation, I let out a long sigh.

They really outdid themselves this time.

Bringing monsters into the city was reckless enough—but doing it in the very heart of the imperial capital? During a festival, no less, when the streets were packed with civilians?

There was a limit to negligence, and this went far beyond it.

Did they seriously not consider the possibility of an accident?

Or worse—did they simply think nothing could go wrong?

"So these creatures are scattered all over the place now?" I asked.

Elena nodded grimly. "Yes. I personally saw at least ten of them escape."

"…Ten?"

The word slipped out before I could stop myself.

That was far worse than I'd expected.

Ten monsters loose in the capital wasn't an inconvenience—it was a full-blown disaster waiting to happen. Even low-grade monsters could cause chaos in crowded streets. And if even one of them was high-ranking…

My jaw tightened.

No wonder the knights were mobilizing so quickly. No wonder the streets felt tense.

"This isn't something students should be involved in," I muttered.

Minotaurs are mid-tier monsters.

Releasing even one inside the capital would already be a serious incident—so releasing multiple of them? That was completely beyond the scope of a normal accident.

Even now, those creatures must be rampaging through the streets, causing chaos wherever they went. The thought alone made my stomach tighten.

This wasn't something that could be brushed off as a mistake.

I frowned, trying to piece things together.

"Then what were those explosions just now?"

The Bors Trading Company wasn't some nameless back-alley merchant. It was one of the most influential trading companies in the entire Empire, a giant that operated under the watchful eyes of both nobles and the imperial family.

A company like that wouldn't recklessly cause explosions in the capital without preparations. No—if they moved, it meant they were confident they could control the situation. Or at least, that's how it should have been.

"I don't know," Elena replied, shaking her head. "We were just passing by when, all of a sudden, there was a huge explosion."

And then, as if on cue, the monsters were released.

Minotaurs bursting out amidst smoke and debris, panicked screams filling the streets, civilians scattering in every direction.

Elena and the others had simply been unlucky—caught at the center of something they had nothing to do with.

As she explained, I listened carefully, replaying the scene in my head.

But the more I listened, the more something didn't sit right with me.

"…Then why were you running away?" I asked at last.

Elena blinked, clearly not expecting the question.

"You two should be more than capable of taking down a Minotaur," I continued. "One, maybe even two. It shouldn't have forced you to retreat like that."

Silence hung between us for a moment.

Even if Elena couldn't fight right now because she didn't have her sword with her, Lisa should have been more than capable of dealing with a Minotaur on her own.

So why did they run?

"Well… there were too many people around…"

Lisa's hesitant reply answered everything.

Ah. So that's what it was.

I immediately understood her reasoning. Lisa's power was dangerous in more ways than one.

True to its name—the power of demons—it carried an unmistakably alien aura. If she used it openly in a crowded place, it wouldn't just end with the monster being defeated.

Rumors would spread. Suspicion would follow. At worst, she could end up being treated as a threat herself.

In that sense, choosing to flee instead of fighting had been the correct decision.

They hadn't had a choice. They ran—and by sheer coincidence, ran straight into us.

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